Wheat germ protein in functional foods: structure, processing, applications, and mechanistic insights.

Methodological approaches to assess protein digestibility with an emphasis on plant-derived foods.

Plant Protein-Derived Bioactive Peptides: From Mechanistic Promise to Health-Promoting Functional Foods

The evidence indicates that peptide discovery should not be treated as the principal endpoint of research, and future progress will require translation-oriented development in which bioactivity, digestion stability, matrix compatibility, sensory quality, manufacturing reproducibility, realistic intake, human evidence, and regulatory credibility are evaluated as interdependent criteria.

Comprehensive Insights into Plant-Derived Bioactive Peptides: Sources, Technological Strategies, and Health Implications

Key challenges remain, particularly digestive instability, uncertain systemic bioavailability, bitterness, safety standardization, and limited human clinical evidence, so future work should prioritize standardized extraction and analytical methods, optimized delivery systems, and robust clinical trials.

Dual-Protein Systems in Foods: Structure-Function Relationships, Nutritional Impacts, and Applications.

Growing demand for sustainable, nutritious, and high-quality protein foods has highlighted limitations of single-source proteins and promoted interest in dual-protein systems (DPS). DPS are edible protein matrices intentionally formed from two distinct primary protein components, derived from different biological sources or complementary protein fractions, and processed within a shared physicochemical environment. This review integrates their definition, fabrication strategies, interaction mechanisms, functional properties, nutritional implications, and food applications. Protein-protein interactions, including electrostatic, hydrophobic, hydrogen-bonding, and disulfide-mediated interactions, regulate unfolding, aggregation, interfacial adsorption, and network formation. Processing methods such as blending, co-precipitation, ultrasound, microwave treatment, pH shifting, fermentation, germination, and enzymatic cross-linking further modify structure and functionality. These changes affect solubility, emulsification, foaming, gelation, rheology, digestibility, and storage stability. Nutritionally, DPS may improve amino acid complementarity, digestion behavior, and bioactive peptide release, but their benefits depend on protein source, ratio, processing conditions, and matrix. Applications in meat and seafood analogues, dairy-like systems, bakery products, beverages, and structured foods show potential for quality and sustainability improvement. However, sensory defects, allergenicity, limited digestibility evidence, and insufficient consumer studies remain challenges. This review provides a framework for designing stable, nutritious, sustainable, and acceptable dual-protein foods.

Chemical Fate of Polyphenols in Food Systems: Processing-Induced Modifications, Matrix Effects, and Implications for Bioaccessibility

Polyphenols are bioactive compounds abundant in plant-based foods, contributing to antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial effects. Their stability, bioaccessibility, and functional potential are influenced by chemical structure, food matrix composition, and processing. Thermal, non-thermal, and fermentation-based treatments can either degrade sensitive polyphenols or enhance extractability and biological activity, depending on the matrix. Interactions with proteins, polysaccharides, and lipids modulate release during digestion, with bound or complexed forms often exhibiting delayed bioaccessibility and colonic microbial transformation. Accurate characterization relies on analytical methods ranging from spectrophotometry to HPLC–MS/MS, NMR, and metabolomics, yet methodological limitations can obscure functional content. This review integrates current knowledge on polyphenol chemistry, processing effects, matrix interactions, bioaccessibility, and analytical approaches, highlighting practical implications for functional food development and research gaps for future studies.

Lignans as Functional Antioxidants in Food Systems: A Review on Its Structural Insights, Extraction Strategies, Mechanisms, and Implications in Food Industrial Applications